This is a funded project to evaluate communications effectiveness of Servator police deployment and associated promotion to generate public suspicious activity reporting to reduce a broad spectrum of criminality including terrorism.

DatesNovember 2016 until July 2017

SponsorVarious police authorities

Funded£15k

Partnersi to i research

Police reassurance communications (RComms), branded as Servator, inform, reassure and recruit the general public (and potentially deter criminals/terrorists). This project evaluates the effectiveness of RComms in various settings including rail and aviation using a street survey methodology and statistical analysis techniques. Results indicate the general public were reassured by Servator communications, particularly the police presence, and by campaign promotional materials. This study makes a public policy and academic contribution by describing a novel police social marketing campaign to reassure the public about public safety and how to report suspicious activity using a fear-appeal based message.